Professor of Nanomaterials and Royal Society University Research Fellow

Andrei N. Khlobystov received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from Moscow State University, Russia in 1997 and the University of Nottingham, UK in 2002 respectively. He then joined the Department of Materials, Oxford University as a postdoctoral research assistant. He was awarded the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship in 2004 and the Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 2005. In 2005 Andrei was a recipient of a European Young Investigator Award.

His current research focuses on chemistry of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes and development of applications for these materials. Directed assembly of functional networks from nanoscopic building blocks (nanotubes, nanoparticles, macromolecules) is at the centre of his experimental activities. His other research interests include molecular self-assembly and electron microscopy.

Dr. Maria del Carmen Gimenez-Lopez

Maria comes from Spain where she obtained her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Valencia University in 2006. She then joined the University of Nottingham as a postdoctoral research fellow working under the supervision of Prof. Champness and Prof. Khlobystov for almost three years. In 2009 she was awarded with a two-year Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship in our group. In this project, she studied the interactions between molecules or nanoparticles and nanotubes and successfully developed a general methodology for confinement of complex molecular structures within nanotubes, forming unique types of hybrid nanomaterials with the potential for electronic applications.

Currently, she holds a five-year Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship titled “Nano-Magnets in Carbon Nanostructures” from the Royal Society. Her project is focused on a new area of technology called spintronics, which is a branch of electronics that is aimed at exploiting the property of the spin of the electron in addition to its charge.

Dr. Thomas Chamberlain

Tom comes from Matlock, in Derbyshire, and completed an MSci in Chemistry here at the University of Nottingham before obtaining a PhD working for Prof. Khlobystov, and Professors Neil Champness in Chemistry and Peter Beton in the School of Physics working on the synthesis of novel functional fullerene molecules and the subsequent formation of fullerene/carbon nanotube peapod structures.

He is interested in the use of supramolecular forces, such as van der Waals, to organise molecules in 1D and 2D arrays utilising carbon nanotubes as quasi 1D templates for the organisation of molecules into chains for potential use in quantum information processing.

He is currently working on the development of techniques which use carbon nanotubes as both a template for the formation of exciting new nanostructures and as containers for catalytic metal centres for potential use as nanoreactors.

Dr. Graham Rance

Graham comes from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire. He completed an MSci in Chemistry here at the University of Nottingham and his final year research project was spent within the Nanocarbon Group studying the solution behaviour of functionalised carbon nanotubes.

Graham's postgraduate research focused on developing an understanding the fundamental interactions that govern the self-assembly of metallic nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes into hybrid superstructures. His current doctoral research aims to explore the versatility of these fascinating nanostructures in catalytic devices.

Dr. Maria Lebedeva

Masha is originally from Moscow, Russia where she studied at Moscow State University. She initially completed a summer project here at the University of Nottingham looking at functionalising fullerenes and their interactions with carbon nanotubes and gold surfaces.

Masha's completed her PhD with us researching functionalisation of fullerenes to study their interactions with donor complexes.

Akos Botos

Ákos comes from Budapest, Hungary and completed an MSc in Chemistry with special faculty in Material Science at the Eötvös Loránd University. His studies involved the encapsulation of fullerenes in carbon nanotubes in supercritical carbon dioxide and their characterisation by vibrational spectroscopy.

He studied towards his PhD with the nanocarbon group here in Nottingham and his postgraduate research aims to investigate the interactions between organometallic complexes and carbon nanotubes.

Scott Miners

Scott is originally from Bristol and started work with the group during the final year of his MSci degree at the University of Nottingham. This involved research into the interactions of metallic nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes with the aim of controlling nanotube length.

Scott's current PhD research involves studying chemical reactions confined within carbon nanotubes with the aim of probing the effect of extreme confinement and developing carbon nanoreactor methodologies.

Abdullah Kurtoglu

Abdullah comes from Bayburt, in Turkey. He completed a BSc in Materials Science and Engineering at the Sakarya University, Turkey. He worked as a research assistant at the Gebze Institute of Technology (GIT) studying novel carbon nanostructures supported electrocatalysis for fuel cell technology. He recently moved to Nottingham and joined the Nanocarbon Group to study for his PhD.

He is currently working on the development of techniques to use carbon nanotubes and nanofibers as metallic nanoparticles support materials for applications in fuel cells.

Rachel Gover

Rachel comes from Congleton in Cheshire, and recently carried out her MSci Chemistry degree at the University of Nottingham. Her fourth year research project with the Astrophysical Chemistry group involved looking at the hydrogenation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon molecules. She is currently doing an interdisciplinary postgraduate research project under the supervision of Prof. Khlobystov and Prof. Peter Sarre, working on the formation and spectroscopy of carbon nanostructures in an astrophysical context.

Robert McSweeney

Rob comes from Hunton in Kent. He completed an MSci in chemistry with honours here in Nottingham where his final year project was based in polymer chemistry. However, he moved to our group to start his PhD and is currently looking at the redox properties of molecules encapsulated within carbon nanotubes.

Carlos Herreros Lucas

Carlos comes from Leon in Spain and started to work with us as an Erasmus student during his final year at Oviedo Universiy. He likes adventure and playing football with friends. Initially, he worked on the encapsulation of nanoparticles using different tubular hollow carbon nanostructures as nanocontainers and has since started his PhD studies with the nanocarbon group.

Rhys Lodge

Rhys comes from Long Bennington, near Grantham and completed his MSci chemistry degree including a year in industry here in Nottingham. His undergraduate research project with the nanocarbon group involved organic reactions in narrow carbon nanotubes, and this leads nicely into his continued postgraduate studies with us into metal-catalysed reactions confined within various carbon nanoreactors.

Kate Walker

Kate comes from Hucknall in Nottingham. She completed an MSci in chemistry here in Nottingham where her final year project involved synthesis and characterisation of organometallic fluorescent dyes. Kate's postgraduate research aims to study photocatalysis within carbon nanotubes.

Craig Stoppiello

Craig comes from Derbyshire and completed an MSci in Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, with his third year spent as an exchange student at the University of Queensland, Australia. For his fourth year research project he investigated the reactivity of lanthanide organometallic complexes and moved to the Nanocarbon Group to study for his PhD. For his postgraduate research he is exploring the use of carbon nanotubes as templates for the formation of inorganic nanomaterials.

Mehtap Aygun

Mehtap comes from Turkey where she graduated from the Chemical Engineering Department at Atatürk University. She completed a years research with the nanocarbon group as part of her MRes degree, and has now rejoined the group as a PhD student.

Bradley Thomas

Bradley comes from Derbyshire and is currently working towards his PhD. Previously he completed two summer internships and a final year research project with the Nanocarbon Group. His MSci project consisted of synthesising and studying the properties of functionalised fullerenes. His PhD will continue on this topic working towards novel carbon based devices.

Max Astle

Max, former president of ChemSoc, is from Belper in Derbyshire and is studying towards his chemistry MSci degree here in Nottingham. As part of the nanocarbon group for his final year, he is studying the world of nanoparticle-nanotube interactions for potential application in photoactive devices.

Lewis Pickard

Lewis is a masters student at Nottingham from Bromsgrove. During his 3rd year he worked in industry developing Lithium-Sulfur batteries and is currently working towards his MSci degree as part of the nanocarbon group. Lewis's work will focus on the effect of nanotube confinement on electrochemical reactions.

Richard Hyde

Richard is originally from Chester in Cheshire and has joined the nanocarbon group as part of his MSci degree here in Nottingham. Prior to joining us, he investigated hyperbranched polymers for use as viscosity modifiers in engine lubricants as part of a BP summer studentship. During his final year research project with us, he aims to carry out catalytic reactions inside carbon nanoreactors to investigate the effects of nanotube confinement. When not in the lab, he also enjoys rugby and mountain biking.